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In Memory

Joe Kuharich - Class Of 1934 VIEW PROFILE

Joe Kuharich

Joe Kuharich

PHILADELPHIA — Joe Kuharich, the one-time South Bend Riley High School football player who later coached at Notre Dame and with the Philadel-phia Eagles (and other professional teams), died Sunday shortly before his old National Football League team performed for the first time ever in the Super Bowl.

Kuharich, 63, of suburban Philadelphia, died at Graduate Hospital, a hospital spokeswoman said. Details were unavailable but Kuharich for years had battled multiple myeloma, a form of bone cancer.

Kuharich coached Philadelphia from 1964 69 and had an overall record of 28-41-1 with the Eagles, including his best season, 1966, when the Eagles won the last nine games of the season for a 9-5 record and a second-place tie with Cleveland in the National Football Conference.

Former Eagles owner Jerry Wolman rewarded Kuharich with an unprecedented 15-year contract as head coach and general manager after that season but the Eagles were 6-7-1 the following year. In 1968 they were 2-12-0. Kuharich was fired in 1969 when Wolman sold the franchise to present owner Leonard Tose.

During his years in :large of the Eagles, Kuharich traded away several popular players, including wide receiver Tommy McDonald, quarterback Sonny Jurgensen,,safety Jim 'Carr and defensive back Iry Cross. Before joining the Eagles, Kuharich served as supervisor of officials for the NFL.

Prior to that, he was head coach at Notre Dame from 1959-62 and posted a 17-23, making him the only coach with a losing record in the school's history. Kuharich, 41 when he replaced Terry Brennan as the Irish head coach, was a star guard for the Elmer Layden-coached N.D. teams of 1935-36-37.

He got his coaching start at Notre Dame when he served as an assistant freshman coach in 1938 while taking graduate studies.

Kuharich played professionally with the Chicago Cardinals (1940-41) and later coached the team in the 1952 season. His coaching career included one year at a New York high school, five at San Francisco University and five with the Washington Redskins.

The former Riley player and his family resided at 1912 S. Taylor St. in South Bend. 

Sources: Ancestry.com, Newspapers.com, and FindAGrave.com

02/14/2024 EJS

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/168633450/joe_kuharich



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